Electrical connector member with a central longitudinal strip having a supported free end



Mam}! 1956 H- w. BATCHELLER ,73 ELECTRICAL CONNECTOR MEMBER WITH ACENTRAL LONGITUDINAL STRIP HAVING A SUPPORTED-FREE END Filed Aug. 28,1952 Jf/ a fl/fiaflk iigr 1 JQW United States Patent ELECTRICALCONNECTOR MEMBER WITH A CENTRAL LONGITUDINAL STRIP HAVING A SUPPORTEDFREE END Hugh W. Batcheller, Newton Highlands, Mass., assignor toArk-Les Switch Corporation, Watertown, Mass, a corporation ofMassachusetts Application August 28, 1952, Serial No. 306,865

4 Claims. (Cl. 339-258) each having an inturned flange along its upperedge.

The flanges overhang margins of the floor and are spaced thereabove toreceive the side margins of the male members with a close fit. Twolongitudinal parallel slots are cut in the floor to define a centralstrip somewhat as shown and described, in my Patent No. 2,600,190. 1According to the present invention the end of the strip which is remotefrom the entering end of the member is free and bears on an adjacentportion of the floor, such portion being preferably otfsetdownward. Thestrip is arched upward, the convexity being flattened when a maleconnector member is thrust into the channel. The flattening orstraightening of the arch increases the horizontal length of the strip,causing the free end thereof to slide on the supporting portion of thefloor since the other end of the strip is integral with the portions ofthe floor adjacent to the entering end of the member. The provision of afree end for the central strip results in an increase in the distance ofyield of the strip so as to accommodate successfully male members whichvary somewhat from the prescribed thickness. The support for the freeend of the strip provides the necessary stiffness required to press themale member firmly against the flanges which extend over the sidemargins of the floor of the female connector member.

For a more complete understanding of the invention reference may be hadto the following description thereof and to the drawing, of which Figure1 is a plan view of a connector with the two members separated;

Figure 2 is a side elevation of the female member, a portion beingbroken away to show in section;

Figure 3 is a side elevation of the connected members, a portion beingbroken away to show in section;

Figure 4 is a section on the line 44 of Figure 2; and

Figure 5 is a bottom plan view of the female member shown in Figure 1.

The connector shown in Figure 1 consists of a male member 10 having arectangular plane tongue 12. The female member 14 is of the type havinga shallow channel with a floor 16, side walls 18 and inturned flanges 20along the upper edges of the walls, the flanges being spaced above thefloor 16 just enough to receive the side margins of the tongue 12 with asnug fit. Two longitudinally extending, parallel slots 22 are cut in thefloor, forming a central strip 24 of the original material of the floor.The end of the strip 24. remo e r the entering end of the member issevered from the adjacent portion of the floor by a transverse cut fromone slot to the other, but the end of the strip near the entering end ofthe member is left joined integrally with the floor. The free end of thestrip is then bent up out of the plane of the floor and the strip iscold-worked by suitable dies to make it thinner and longer. In theexample shown in Figure l, the slots 22 are of substantial width and thestrip 24 is thinned in varying degrees from a maximum at the line ofjuncture with the portion of the floor near the entering end of themember to a minimum at or near the middle of the strip. As a result, thestrip is not only lengthened by the cold working but is also widened,the maximum widening occurring at the point of maximum thinning. Thesevered end 30 of the strip 24 is preferably bent down as indicated inFigures 2 and 3 to engage the adjacent portion 32. of the floor fromwhich it was severed. The floor portion 32 is preferably oifset downwardto support the strip at the proper level for admission of the tongue 12.In shaping the strip it is preferthe member 16 to make a connection. Thecold working of the strip hardens the metal thereof and increases itsresilience, the members being preferably made of brass or bronze of akind which hardens as a result of cold working. When the tongue 12 isthrust into the channel, its side margins engage under the flanges 20and its entering end forces the arched strip to a substantially straightposition. The flattening of the arch increases the effective length ofthe strip so that its free end 30 slides on the offset floor portion 32.The free end of the strip permits suflicient flattening of the arch ofthe strip to accommodate tongues 12 which may vary somewhat from theprescribed thickness of the stock from which the members 10 are made.The positive support of the free end 30 of the strip by the floorportion 32, however, imparts the stiffness to the strip necessary for afirm contact between the tongue 12 and the flanges 20.

I claim:

1. An electric connector member consisting of a piece of sheet metalshaped to form a shallow channel with a floor, upstanding side walls andinturned flanges along the upper edges of said walls, said floor havingtwo longitudinally extending slots with a central strip between them,said strip being longitudinally arched upward and integrally joined atone end to the portion of the floor at the entering end of the member,the opposite end of the strip being free and bearing on another portionof the floor, the last mentioned portion of the floor being offset belwthe adjacent portion of the floor.

2. An electric connector member as in claim 1, the free end of the stripbeing bent downward.

3. An electric connector as in claim 1, said strip being thinner andharder than the other portions of the floor.

4. An electric connector as in claim 1, said strip being 7 thinner andharder than the other portions of the floor and having a central bossprojecting up therefrom.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,291,933 Kuhn Jan. 21, 1919 2,591,009 Riche Apr. 1, 1952 2,600,190Batcheller June 10, 1952

